'Find the true face of arrogant OJ Simpson': What U.S. prosecutors told all-white jury at start of trial

Assistant district attorney Chris Owens said it was not "necessarily the one he puts out to the world", and he said Simpson's actions when he allegedly stole sports memorabilia from a Las Vegas hotel last September showed "a pattern of arrogance coupled with hypocrisy".

The 61-year-old former NFL star and actor is accused of using threats, force and demands in the incident which came 13 years after he was cleared of murdering his wife in the televised "trial of the century", the Clark County District Court in downtown Las Vegas heard.

Back in court: OJ Simpson faces life in jail if he is convicted of crimes linked to the alleged theft of sports memorabilia

Mr Owens told the jury of nine women and three men: "In this case, ladies and gentlemen, you will be the ones who write the last chapter."

The prosecutor opened with a series of tape recordings in which Simpson allegedly shouted obscenities in the "sting" on two memorabilia dealers at the Palace Station Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas on September 13 last year.

"Don't let nobody out of here," the court heard.

"Walk your ass over there.

"Stand the f **k up before it gets ugly in here."

Mr Owens said the audio and video footage shown to the court were taken by a number of people involved in the incident.

"It will show threats," he said.

"It will show demands. It will show the taking of property from the victims in this case."

He told the jury they will "spend the next few days trying to find the true face of Orenthal Simpson".

The selection of an all-white jury follows a courtroom battle in which defence lawyers argued African-Americans were being systematically excluded by the prosecution.

The former American football star's 1995 acquittal on murder charges related to the deaths of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman came from a predominantly black jury.

Simpson and co-defendant Clarence 'C J' Stewart, 54, who is also black, deny kidnapping, armed robbery and other crimes linked to the alleged theft of items from two sports memorabilia dealersin a hotel room confrontation in September last year.

Each could face life in prison with the possibility of parole if convicted of kidnapping, and mandatory prison time if convicted of armed robbery.

The Las Vegas trial is expected to last five weeks.

Defence attorneys for Simpson and Stewart moved to dismiss the entire jury - nine women and three men - and start again.

But Judge Jackie Glass turned down the motion, saying she saw no reason why a non-white defendant would be discriminated against.

She insisted she had taken great pains to separate the current case from Simpson’s racially charged 1995 murder trial.

She said she was sure the jurors would not be biased against Simpson, 61, who is charged with being behind a Las Vegas hotel-casino heist where armed robbers took sports memorabilia he believed was stolen from him.

The process of seating a jury actually began in mid-August when 500 prospective jurors filled out a 26-page questionnaire.

The Naked Gun star was famously acquitted of the 1994 slaying of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman, both of whom were white.

‘If you are here thinking you are going to punish Mr. Simpson for what happened in Los Angeles in 1995 this is not the case for you,’ Mrs Glass said.

Co-defendant: Clarence 'CJ' Stewart

‘I mean really, truly, folks, I’m not kidding around. Can you put that aside and understand that the case we are trying here and the info you’re going to hear about here is totally separate from that case?’

Nevada’s Clark County District Attorney David Roger also defended the final make-up of the jury, saying that two of six alternate jurors are black.

He gave the judge what he called ‘race neutral’ reasons for removing two black women from the jury panel with his peremptory challenges.

Both of the women who were removed had strong religious views, and the prosecutor said he thought one of them would be inclined to ‘forgive’ Simpson while the other said she was hesitant to send anyone to prison.

Lawyers and the judge worked into the night yesterday to select the final group.

As they left the courthouse in darkness, Simpson attorney Yale Galanter said he was confident of his case.

‘I don’t think my client did anything wrong, I don’t think he broke any laws. I’m glad that we’re finally at the point where we can get these issues resolved,’ he said.